Israeli Ministry Exposes Iranian Social Media Campaign Aimed at Spreading Fear

Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said on Thursday that it uncovered a large Iranian influence operation on social media designed to spread fear, despair, and distrust among Israelis during the war. The ministry's research found dozens of fake accounts posing as Israelis and even international media outlets, with the apparent goal of shaping public opinion inside Israel and deepening social divisions.

According to the report, the campaign began during the military operations “Rage of the Lion” and “With All Your Might” and expanded over time. The accounts circulated fabricated reports of high casualty figures, widespread destruction, leadership crises, and the deaths of senior officials and professionals. They also pushed messages meant to intensify anxiety about the war, long stays in shelters, and mass emigration from Israel.

The ministry said the fake accounts quickly gained significant reach. One profile called “Yemenite Jew” received about 1 million views, along with thousands of replies and shares, while another, “Yitzhak al-Hamoumi,” surpassed 4 million views. The researchers said the accounts posted in Hebrew, Arabic, and English and followed coordinated patterns.

The report said X was the main platform for distribution, partly because it has weaker oversight than some other networks. The operators also used artificial intelligence to generate images and videos that appeared to show severe damage to infrastructure and civilians, though some were not real events. In other cases, real footage was mixed with exaggerated figures or false information. The ministry said the accounts tried to appear credible by impersonating soldiers, university employees, and Israeli civilians, sometimes using children’s photos and personal details. Minister Amichai Chikli called it a “systematic and coordinated Iranian attempt” to influence Israeli public opinion, while ministry director general Avi Cohen Scali said the new effort was aimed specifically at Israelis, not just international audiences, and that the findings had been passed to the relevant security agencies.